Today, I am
speaking on the fourth step to
receiving your miracle - “SEE YOUR PREDICAMENT
AS MIRACLE OPPORTUNITY!”
Realize
that your extremity is God’s opportunity. Any affliction in your life is an opportunity for God to reveal Himself
to you personally by performing a miracle in your life. This will help your
faith in Him to grow and get you to know Him better.
The fact that you have no
money even to put food on your table is an opportunity for God to reveal
Himself to you as El-Shaddai by
performing a miracle in your finances today (2 Cor. 9:8; Phil. 4:19).
The fact that you have
nothing but a cruise of oil and the creditors are coming to take your children
as slaves until you pay your debt is an opportunity for God to do something about
that challenge of indebtedness in your life.
The fact that you are in the
middle of nowhere, and you don’t know the way forward [you lack the sense of
direction] is an opportunity for God to manifest Himself to you as Jehovah Rohi (Ps. 23:1).
He leads you in
righteousness, according to the Word of God by His Spirit thereby manifesting
Himself to you as Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our
righteousness (Ps. 23:3b; Ps. 119:105).
The fact that you are in
trouble and you desire His presence is an opportunity for God
to manifest Himself to you as Jehovah Shammah (Ps. 23:4; Isa. 43:2; Heb. 13:5).
The fact that you are facing a battle in your office, home, business,
studies, marriage is an opportunity for God to manifest Himself to you as Jehovah Nissi (Ps. 23:5).
The fact that you have a
need in your life is an opportunity for God to manifest Himself to you as Jehovah Jireh (Ps. 23:2b). For instance, a young man walked into my office and
began to bless the name of the Lord. He narrated that the previous day, he had
nothing at all to eat. He had no money also to buy anything, and as he was
about to become worried about his situation, the Holy Spirit dropped into his
heart the words, “The Lord will
provide.” He believed these words and cooled off. By the time
he got home in the evening, somebody he lest expected had already brought to
him three fat tubers of yam and three hundred Naira. Here, Jesus manifested
Himself to him as Jehovah Jireh.
The fact that you lack peace in your life, home, marriage is an
opportunity for God to manifest Himself to you as Jehovah Shalom (Ps. 23:2b).
The fact that the doctors
have declared that you have just one week to live because you have a terminal
disease is an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to you as Jehovah Rapha by performing a miracle
in your life.
Psalm 34:19-20 says, “Many
are THE AFFLICTIONS [predicaments, troubles] OF THE RIGHTEOUS: but the
Lord delivereth him out of them all. 20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of
them is broken.”
The moment a tragedy or
affliction comes into your life, Satan tries to use your emotions to defeat
you. He uses fear, worry and self-pity against you. But God has not given us
the spirit of fear (2 Tim. 1:7).
When you know that God is
not just going to make you victorious in the middle of your circumstances, but
will also use the same circumstances for our good, you’ll be able to face every
circumstance without fear. You will even begin to develop a greater trust in
God and His power to do miracles. You will also be able to see your problem as
an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to you personally in your situation by
performing a miracle.
From cover to cover, the
Bible contains examples of how God used circumstances for the good of all those
who trusted in Him.
Whenever there is a need in
your life and you trust God for a solution, He will step into your situation
and reveal Himself to you in a peculiar way by performing a miracle. That is to
say that the presence of any need in your life is an opportunity for the God of
wonders to reveal Himself to you personally.
In His mission statement
Jesus announced that He came to meet to the needs of people.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus said,
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel
to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance
to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
“……. because He has anointed Me to meet to the needs of people.”
Acts 10:38 says, “How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went
about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God
was with Him.”
“…who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the
devil…” can read “who went about
doing good, meeting to the needs of the people.”
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The
thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
In this Scripture Jesus is
saying, “I have come to meet to the needs of people.”
1 John 3:8 says, “For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of
the devil.”
For this purpose, the Son of
God was manifested, that He will meet to the needs of people.
We must therefore realize
that God ceases every opportunity He can find to meet to the needs of people
thereby revealing Himself in one capacity or the other.
Let us examine this matter
more closely from the beginning:
1. a) In Genesis 1:1-3, there was
the need for light. God stepped in and said, “Let
there be light, and there was light.” Here, He revealed Himself to them as El-Shaddai, the All-Sufficient God.
Genesis 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning God created the Heaven and
the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
b) In Acts 3, a
certain cripple had a need to walk on his feet. By the authority vested on us
as children of God, Apostles Peter and John made the cripple to walk again.
Jesus stepped in through Apostle Peter and John and revealed Himself as the All-Sufficient God; El-Shaddai; the God of wonders.
c) In 2 Kings
6:5-6, the sons of the prophet lost the axe-head that they borrowed. God
stepped in and revealed Himself as the
All-Sufficient God. He made the axe-head to swim.
2 Kings 6:5-6
says, “But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he
cried, and said, Alas, master! For it was borrowed. 6 And the man of God said,
Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast
it in thither; and the iron did swim.”
2. a) In Genesis 22
Abraham had the need of a lamb for sacrifice. God stepped in and provided the
lamb thereby revealing Himself to him as Jehovah
Jireh.
Jehovah Jireh means “The Great
Provider; The Lord that provides for me even before the need arises” (Gen.
22:13-14). In the hour when Abraham’s faith was tested more severely, God
revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh
(Gen 21:33 – 22:1).
b) In Exodus 16:35,
in the wilderness there was need for clothing,
shelter, protection, food, and water. God stepped in and fed the
children of Israel for forty years in the wilderness with manna from heaven.
Their shoes and dresses grew as they grew. For forty years God sustained them
in the wilderness. They lacked nothing in all that time. Their clothes did not
wear out, and their feet did not swell. He gave the children of Israel bread
from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were
thirsty thereby revealing Himself to them as Jehovah Jireh.
c) In 1 Kings
17:1-7, Prophet Elijah had need for food. God stepped in and fed Elijah by the
hands of the ravens of the air thereby revealing Himself to Prophet Elijah as Jehovah Jireh.
d) In 1 Kings
17:8-16, the woman of Zarephath had the need of sustenance. God stepped in and
met to the need of the widow woman of Zarephath thereby revealing Himself to
her as Jehovah Jireh.
e)
In John 2, there was a need for wine in a wedding ceremony. Jesus stepped
in and met to their need by changing water into the sweetest wine that ever
existed thereby revealing Himself as Jehovah
Jireh.
f)
In
John 6, thousands of people were faint and hungry. They had the need to be fed.
Jesus stepped in and fed 5000 men, excluding
women and children, with 5 barley loaves and two fish
thereby revealing Himself to them as Jehovah Jireh (Jn. 6:1-13).
3. In Exodus 13,
the children of Israel faced the challenge of direction in the wilderness. God
stepped in and revealed Himself to them as Jehovah
Rohi. He led the children of Israel by a pillar of cloud during the day and
a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way to the Promised
Land.
Exodus 13:21-22
says, “And the LORD went before them by
day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to
give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the
pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”
4. At the Red Sea,
there was need for a passage from one side to the other. God stepped in and divided
the Sea for His people so they could walk through on dry land thereby
revealing Himself to them as the God that makes a way where men say there is no
way – THE WAY MAKER!
5. a) And then He hurled their enemies into the
depths of the Sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters (Ex. 14),
thereby revealing Himself to them as Jehovah
Nissi.
b) In Joshua 6, the
children of Israel had the need to enter the city of Jericho but a certain
insurmountable wall was hindering them. God stepped in and made a way for them
by sinking the wall of Jericho as the children of Israel shouted the shout of
victory thereby revealing Himself as THE
WAY MAKER and as Jehovah Nissi.
c) In 1 Chronicles
20, the children of Israel had the need for someone to fight their battle. God
stepped in and revealed himself to them as Jehovah
Nissi. He discomfited the people of Mount Seir, the children of Ammon and
the Amalekites by setting ambush between them as the children of Israel praised
Him.
6. a) In Exodus 14,
the children of Israel had the need for protection. God stepped in and stood as
a pillar of fire between the children of Israel and the soldiers of Pharaoh; He
showed darkness to the enemy, but light and warmth to His people. He revealed
Himself to them as the Protector.
Exodus 14:20
says, “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel;
and t was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so
that the one came not near the other all the night.”
b) In Daniel 3, the
three Hebrew children had the need for protection from the deadly fiery
furnace. Jesus stepped in and became the fourth Person in the fiery furnace and
the fire totally lost its power to hurt them. In His Presence the fiery furnace
changed into an air-conditioned apartment. Here He revealed Himself to them as the Protector.
Psalms 91:1-4 says, “He
that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of
the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.
3 Surely He
shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome
pestilence.
4 He shall cover
thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth
shall be thy shield and buckler.”
7. In Exodus 17,
the children of Israel had the need for water to drink. He gave them water from
the Rock to drink. He revealed Himself as the
Fountain of living water.
Jeremiah 17:13
says, “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and
they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have
forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.”
8. In 1 Samuel 7:3-14, God revealed Himself to the
children of Israel as Jehovah Ebenezer, the stone of help” — for he said, “Up to
this point the Lord has helped us!”
The words, “JEHOVAH EBENEZER” means “Thus
far has the Lord helped us.” The words “Thus far” are like a hand
pointing in the direction of the past.
9. a) In Daniel 6,
Daniel had the need for deliverance. Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
stepped in and shut up the mouth of very hungry lions and gave Daniel a good
sleep, one of the hungry lions serving as the pillow for Daniel to rest his
head. Here, He revealed Himself to Daniel as the Deliverer.
b) In Mark
1:23-28, people possessed by demons had the need for deliverance from the
powers of darkness. Jesus stepped in and cast out the unclean spirit and
thereby revealing Himself to them as the
Deliverer.
c) In Mark 4:35-41,
the boat in which Himself and the disciples were in was sinking. So those
disciples had the need to be delivered from death. Jesus stepped in and calmed the
storm thereby revealing Himself to them as the
Deliverer.
d) Paul and Silas
had need for deliverance from prison. The Holy Ghost stepped in and their bands
were loosed (Acts 16:16ff), thereby revealing Himself as the Deliverer, the Saviour.
Colossians 1:13
says, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”
Acts 4:12 says, “Neither
is there salvation [deliverance] in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
In Isaiah 49:26
God said, “And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they
shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall
know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of
Jacob.”
In Hosea 13:4
God said, “Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know
no god but Me: FOR THERE IS NO SAVIOUR BESIDE ME.”
In John 4:42 the
people said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying:
for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, THE
SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD.”
1 Timothy 4:10
says, “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in
the living God, WHO IS THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MEN, especially of those that
believe.”
10. a) In Mark
1:40-45, a certain leper had a need for healing. Jesus stepped in and revealed
Himself to that leper as Jehovah Rapha.
He cleansed the leper demonstrating His power over sickness.
b) In Mark 2:1-12,
a certain paralyzed man had the need to be made whole. Jesus stepped in and
healed him thereby revealing Himself to that paralytic as Jehovah Rapha.
c) In Mark 5:21-24,
35-43, Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead thereby revealing Himself as
the Deliverer and Jehovah Rapha.
d)
In Mark 5:25-34 a certain woman faced the challenge of the issue
of blood for 12 years. Jesus stepped in and as the woman touched the hem of His
garment; her issue instantly came to an end thereby revealing Himself as Jehovah Rapha.
e) In Mark 6:53-56,
many sick people required to be healed. Jesus stepped in and as many sick
people as touched the hem of His garment were made whole. By so doing He
revealed Himself to them as Jehovah
Rapha.
f)
In
Mark 7:31-37, the deaf and dumb had the need to hear and speak. Jesus stepped
in and made the deaf and dumb both to hear and speak thereby revealing Himself
to them as Jehovah Rapha.
g) In Luke 13, a
certain woman that had been bowed by Satan for 18 years had the need to walk
straight. Jesus stepped in and made her to walk straight. The hunchback
disappeared thereby Jesus revealed Himself as Jehovah Rapha.
h) In John 5, a man
by the pool of Bethesda who had an infirmity for 38 years had a need of
healing. Jesus stepped in and made him whole thereby revealing Himself as Jehovah Rapha.
11. In John 9, a
certain man that was born blind had the need of sight. Jesus stepped in
restored his sight thereby revealing Himself as the Light of the world.
In John 8:12
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
12. In John 11,
Lazarus was dead and had the need of resurrection
and healing. Jesus stepped in and He raised Lazarus from the dead, thereby
revealing Himself as the Resurrection
and the Life.
In John 11:25-26
Jesus said unto her [Martha], “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever
liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
This God is still the same
today. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today,
and forever.”
This God never changes. Malachi
3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.”
Therefore, no matter the
challenges you are facing right now, El-Shaddai is on your side to see you through.
If you allow Him, He will step in and cause a miracle to happen on your behalf.
Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. In your predicament, if you will only get
into agreement with God, I guarantee that a sudden miraculous change will take
place in your life. God wants you well. He wants you happy.
There are also some other
examples in the Scriptures where God used circumstances as opportunities to
perform wonders:
a)
A
man like Job had a battery of problems.
He lost everything he ever
owned. His herd of oxen and asses were stolen and his servants murdered. Fire
came out of heaven and consumed his sheep and the servants tending them. The
Chaldeans stole his camels and killed his servants. While his seven sons and
three daughters were having dinner in the eldest son’s house, a great wind
caused the house to collapse upon them killing them all. In addition to all
these afflictions, Job was stricken with boils from the top of his head to the
soles of his feet. His friends and his wife all turned against him.
Job’s reply was, “No
matter what happens, though God slays me, yet will I trust Him” (Job
13:15). “God knows all about me. He knows how much I am able to bear, and after
my faith is tested, I will come through victorious” (Job 23:10). He
maintained a positive attitude. He programmed his mind for victory (1 Jn. 5:4).
Job trusted God with his
predicaments and God was faithful. He stepped in, healed Job’s body, gave him
seven more sons and three daughters, and restored double his sheep, oxen, asses
and camels.
b) Paul faced terrible
situations (2 Cor. 11:23-28). Without batting an eye Paul
said, “None of these things move me” (Acts20:24).
2 Timothy 4:17-18 says, “Notwithstanding
the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be
fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of
the mouth of the lion. 18 And the Lord shall
deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Paul believed that
everything that happened in his life was for a purpose. He considered his
problems opportunities for God to prove His miracle power.
Beloved, regardless of who
you are or the problems you face, if you will trust God, He will perform a
miracle and use your circumstances to prove Himself strong on your behalf. If
you can trust God in your situation, He will transform your problems into
miracles and thereby reveal Himself to you in a peculiar way.
c)
The events that happened in the life of
the 17-year-old boy, Joseph, is
another example in the Bible where God used circumstances as opportunities to
perform miracles.
Joseph was the youngest of
Jacob’s sons. His father loved him more than all his siblings. He distinguished
Joseph from the others by buying him a coat of many colours. As a result,
Joseph’s brothers were jealous and they hated him.
One day Joseph had a dream.
In this dream, God revealed to him that He had a purpose and plan for his life
– that was that one day he was going to be in a position of authority over his
brothers and his entire family. When Joseph shared his dream with his family,
his brothers hated him even the more. His father, who loved him already,
rebuked him.
One day Joseph went out into
the field to find his brothers. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.
The oldest brother, Reuben, overheard their plans and talked them into sparing
Joseph’s life. They seized Joseph, tore off his coat of many colours, and threw
him into a deep pit. This was a terrible situation for Joseph. There was no
obvious way of escape for him. The only thing he could cling to was the promise
God gave to him in a dream.
From that pit Joseph was
sold into slavery and taken to the land of Egypt. What was the attitude of
Joseph? Even though he had been betrayed by his own brothers, was separated
from his parents, and forced into slavery in a strange country, he did not feel
sorry for himself. He was not resentful. He did not try to take matters into
his hands. He simply trusted God and held unto the promise God gave to him. He
saw his circumstances as an opportunity for God to reveal Himself in a
particular way by performing a miracle to fulfill His promise to him.
God was with Joseph and was
using his predicaments for his good. Everything Joseph did prospered and he was
given the position of an overseer in the house of an officer of Pharaoh, Potiphar.
And just when everything seemed to be going well Joseph was falsely accused by
his master’s wife of trying to abuse her sexually. As a result, he was bound
and thrown into prison.
First a pit, then Egyptian
slavery, and now prison! But God was with Joseph in the prison and gave him
favour with the keeper of the prison. Even in prison, God caused Joseph to
prosper. But after two long years in prison, God miraculously brought Joseph
out and promoted him to a position of power and authority. He was made second
in command to the Pharaoh.
After 13 years, the promise
God gave Joseph in a dream when he was 17 years old came to pass. And because
of the famine in the land Joseph’s brothers were forced to come to Egypt to buy
grain, and they eventually bowed down before him just as God had shown him they
would.
You see, God did not
immediately take Joseph out of his predicaments. Rather He made Joseph
victorious in his circumstances, and used Joseph’s circumstances for his good.
In Genesis 50:20 Joseph said
to his brothers, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good,
to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”
Romans 8:28 says, “And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose.”
As you see your predicament as an opportunity for God to perform a
miracle, God will reveal Himself to you by turning your problems into miracles.
Surely God is talking to somebody right now! You’ve been through a
series of valleys of the shadow of death. Though you may appear not to be
experiencing His presence in that affliction, and the heavens are dark, and you
feel so frail as if the end has come, God is still on His throne working out
all things for you (in your favour) according to the purpose of His own will
(Rom. 8:28; Eph. 1:11).
God is never late. Hold on brother! At His own time He makes all things
beautiful. We can say with Job even in the midst of our sorrow and confusion, “Though
He slays me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).
God is about to multiply you. He is about to promote you. Don’t give up!
Hang on! The end of your trouble is in sight. Stay in prayer and praise! Stay
obedient to the Word of God! Endure hardship as a good soldier! And don’t
complain! Victory is on the way! James 5:11 says, “We count them happy which
endure....”
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
·
Your
friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor,
HOG). 17.02.2019
Promise of God for the week: This week, “God will undo all that afflict you and give you fame instead of shame” (Zeph. 3:19-20).
Amen. Thanks for sharing daddy. Stay blessed Sir
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